The White Martyr
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Defenseless now, Blake was at his mercy, and he clearly had none to spare. "I wonder..." he mused. "Do you really have nine lives?" The gun end of his cane was aimed directly at her face. "Let's find out, shall we?" [Alternate ending to episode 16. Monochrome].
1. Chapter 1

**This was what I was hoping would happen in episode 16, and to some extent I am both happy and unhappy it did not happen. That makes no sense, but here you go. **

**A/N: It's kind of told from Blake's point of view, and since I don't think she knows Roman's name, I kept him nameless.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 1

A cold fear seeped into Blake's bloodstream as she listened to the man before her explain his horrid plans of uniting with the White Fang.

Her grip tightened on Gambol Shroud which she pressed closely to his throat, cold metal to soft flesh. But this man seemed not to think for an instance that she was any kind of threat.

Blake made sure to keep her expression hard and furious despite the tremors that were running through her heart. She swallowed hard, but continued to interrogate the man who had declared partnership plans with the group she formerly associated herself with. "Tell me what it is or I'll put and end to you're little operation."

As if on cue, a mighty gust of wind was quickly followed by a loud whirring sound that sent wavelengths of painful frequencies through her ears, and for just a second, her focus was swayed.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a _little_ operation."

His words alerted her to the immense aircrafts that were beginning to descend upon them. As Blake spared a moment for shock, she lowered her guard long enough for her captive to retaliate, firing a blast from the end of his cane that was directed at her feet.

The explosion was powerful enough to send Blake flying, her head colliding forcefully with the ground as she landed several yards away. With hardly a second for her to catch her breath, her adversary was already beginning to attack.

From that second onward, Blake was relying on instinct and battle tactics alone, her mind not even able to comprehend the things her body could maneuver. Battle was always like this for her, as her heightened senses enabled her to act faster physically than to think things through.

Explosions flared up around her; the blaring of gunshots against metal combined with the deafening rush of air from the ships resulted in an effective distraction for Blake. She briefly flattened her ears in an attempt to stifle some of the noise, but there was no time. She dodged every attack she could, but the ringing in her ears was simply too overwhelming, so she darted behind one of the Dust carts to seek a moment of shelter and gather her bearings.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

She heard him calling out to her in a conceited voice that made her sick to her stomach, both out of disgust and even the tiniest ounce of fear.

But before he could seek her out, Sun directed the man's attention with an admirable dropkick to the face. "Leave her alone." He spat.

Her ears were still throbbing, but Blake managed to peer around the corner of the cart to witness Sun's fighting.

Enemy reinforcements poured in from the airships, but Sun dealt with them as a lion would deal with dogs. Utilizing impressive reflexes and flexibility, he sent kick after punch into their sorry chests and dumbfounded faces. When he drew his weapon, a long, crimson bow staff, his fighting techniques rose to an entirely different level.

Blake watched, a little surprised, honestly. There was something about him that reminded her of Adam. Although their physical appearances were certainly sun and moon, their melee fighting stances and reactions were quite close matches.

Even against a dozen members of the notorious White Fang, Sun never gave an inch as he continued to fight, and Blake briefly noted in the back of her mind that he would be a fine opponent in the tournament, if he were to participate.

It only took Sun a matter of seconds to send the other Faunus spiraling into the walls and Dust carts to lie unconscious, and during that time Blake had finally regained her senses. Crouching low, she pounced as soon as the target of her ire was close enough. "He's mine!"

Leaping over Sun, she brought down Gambol Shroud toward the orange-haired man. He managed to block and instantly sent a flurry of attacks and shots toward her. Blake dodged and leapt, retaliating whenever possible, moving at such an incredible speed that it was akin to being two places at once.

For the first few seconds she engaged him, Blake seemed to have the upper hand, sending him back at least a few steps. But after he landed one hit to her face, her head was spinning again, and though she did her best to ignore the pain, there was simply no time to recuperate in the midst of battle.

Within the next second, the end of his cane slammed into her ribcage, then her shoulder, then her jaw. Again and again she was hit until her legs very nearly gave out.

Time slowed for just a second as she took in her surroundings, her vision still hazy and unfocused now as she felt the pain begin to assault her body. She glimpsed Sun still locked in battle with the White Fang, and he was faring quite well. However, it was clear he would not reach her in time.

Blake was in just enough pain for her senses to start slipping away again, which only served to remind her of how loud everything was.

Her head was spinning as she swung her arm in an attempt to land a blow on her opponent, but he dodged easily, bringing his cane down onto her wrist hard enough to have broken it had she not let go of her weapon.

Defenseless now, Blake was at his mercy, and he clearly had none to spare. "I wonder..." he mused. "Do you _really_ have nine lives?" The gun end of his cane was aimed directly at her face. "Let's find out, shall we?"

Blake's mind was full of so many thoughts at that second, but she could not focus on any one in particular. All she could manage was to close her eyes.

The shot was loud enough to drown out the vicious winds surrounding the propellers of the aircrafts, and it was in such close range to Blake that she felt almost as tough she could hear the color of its proximity.

But there was something else.

It was a gentle sound, like wind chimes dancing on a cool winter breeze. And yet it was fierce, like a parry of icicles shattering into shards of dust.

A forceful impact plowed into Blake from the side, bowling her over onto the pavement that only served to further aggravate her injuries. Blake opened her eyes just long enough to witness the flash of white, and the spray of red.

"What the-?" The man with the cane was clearly just as taken aback, but had no time to react to the situation before it changed again. His attention was directed to one of the nearby rooftops, and in the back of Blake's mind she could tell that Ruby and Penny had arrived.

But she could not take her eyes off of Weiss.

The heiress lie crumpled in the exact spot Blake had been only seconds ago, a ring of blood slowly spreading out around her. Her dress was torn on her left side, scarlet seeping into the material that was always kept so neat and clean. Myrtenaster was gripped loosely in her left hand, but she had not even gotten the chance to use it.

Blake was vaguely aware of Ruby shouting out Penny's name, followed by her own, and then Weiss's. But Blake could not tear her eyes away from the form of the girl who had selflessly taken the blow for her and was now losing precious lifeblood because of it.

"Weiss..." Blake's hoarse voice cracked as she dragged herself closer to her teammate who remained still, wincing as her own pain raked her body. But Weiss's wounds were significantly more worrying, enough to bring the heiress into a state of borderline unconsciousness.

Blake reached out to touch her shoulder with hesitant fingers, afraid of the response she might receive: "Don't touch me", or worse yet, nothing at all.

But just before Blake's fingers could brush against her shoulder, Weiss stirred as she let out a small groan through gritted teeth. Blake recoiled as she watched her teammate struggle to find the strength in her arms in order to push herself up.

Blood leaked from the wound in her side as Weiss straightened her back as best she could manage, her left hand still loosely holding onto her rapier as her right crossed her stomach to staunch the blood-flow from her side. Her mist-blue eyes were calm and calculating in contrast to her ragged breathing, but even now she tried to appear as composed as possible.

Blake could feel Weiss's eyes scouring over her, and her ears flattened again.

"Weiss-"

"You're hurt." The heiress rasped in a voice heavy with guilt. It was the voice of one who knew she had failed in something she should have performed flawlessly at. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"I... _I'm_ hurt?" Blake cried, her heart pounding harder with terror as she watched the heiress's dress stain darker. "Weiss, y-you're bleeding out!" She stammered, her body shaking. "You got hurt saving me! Why would you sacrifice yourself for-"

"Ah-pup-pup-pup-pup!" Weiss removed her bloodied hand from her side for just an instant in order to cut Blake off. She was panting, but there was still a shimmer in her eyes. "This is hardly anything to worry about." She said dismissively, although the grimace on her lips demonstrated just how rapidly she was faltering. "Don't be so dramatic..." She huffed. "I didn't _sacrifice_ myself for you...I'm not going to die..." A cough, a sputter, a wavering gaze. "But I would without a second thought if I had to..." She coughed again, Myrtenaster clanging lightly onto the ground as Weiss slumped forward.

Blake reached out to support her, but she could tell the heiress was at her limit.

"Why...?" Blake's whisper was cracked.

"Because... isn't it obvious..." Weiss made sure to meet Blake's gaze one more time before she lost the strength to keep her eyelids up. "It's because we're teammates, you dummy..." Her voice trailed off on a thin breath of air.

Blake felt hot tears stinging her eyes as Weiss went limp in her arms. She could feel the warm blood soaking into her lap, feel the heiress's shallow breathing.

"Weiss... Weiss!" Blake choked on a sob as she called out her teammate's name.

What frightened her most was not the blood spilling from Weiss's wound, but the small smile on her lips that conveyed she had no regrets about what she had done; the smile of a person who would gladly accept death in exchange for the life of the one she had saved.

It was not long afterward when Ruby and Yang arrived at her side, and while Blake was aware of the questions they were asking and the things they were saying, she could not make sense of anything.

Her eyes closed on white as her world faded to black.

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**A/N: I supposed it could end here with the darkness, and if you'd like it to do so, that's fine by me. But I did write an alternate ending if you'd prefer the smiles. **

**All through the episode 16 battle, I thought Weiss was going to come in to save Blake. I'm disappointed she didn't but what did happen was probably even better.**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I figured it'd be best to keep the alternate ending. For those of you who decided to seek out the happy end, good for you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 2

"Hahahaha, oh, Blake!"

"Can it, Yang." Blake muttered in a rare display of grumpiness.

"I can't help it!" Her partner was still laughing. "I can't believe you _actually_ thought Weiss was going to die!"

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" Blake barked.

It was later that same night, and the members of team RWBY sat in a room of the infirmary wing. Weiss was confined to the bed for another three days to replenish her strength and aura; had she not had such an impressive amount of both, things might have turned out differently.

"You know Weiss is over-dramatic about everything." Yang continued. "And apparently that doesn't exclude bleeding."

"Oh, put a sock in it!" Weiss joined Blake in her efforts to silence the blonde. "_Some_ of us are trying to get some rest here!" She was propped up against the back of the bed, dressed in white hospital robes with her hair down.

"Besides," Blake added from where she sat at her partner's bedside. "_Ruby_ was the one having a panic attack all the way back."

"Well what was I supposed to do?!" Ruby cried from where she sat on Weiss's other side. "I didn't know Weiss could bleed an extra pint of blood more than the average person and still be okay!"

"Are you saying you _weren't_ worried, Yang?" Blake shot back at her partner who was standing beside her.

"Of course I was!" She sounded offended. "But I could tell she was going to be okay. I just thought it was kinda funny how you two kept freaking out even after the professionals told you."

"Hilarious." Blake rolled her eyes, still pouting.

"Well, I did tell you I wasn't going to die, didn't I?" Weiss flicked her gaze over to Blake. "Do you mean to tell me you didn't trust me enough to believe me?"

"Of course that's not it!" Blake hastily tried to defend herself. "It's just, you were saying such fatalistic things and I-"

"Calm down!" Weiss suppressed a laugh of her own. "I was only teasing."

"Weiss... teasing?" Ruby was incredulous.

Blake snorted. "Why do you all gain such pleasure from making me worry?"

"Okay," Weiss caved. "I admit that I _might_ not have been thinking very clearly at the time, an that my word choice may have proven to be _slightly_ misleading." Blake gave her a pouting glare. "But like Yang said, everyone was telling you all along I'd be fine, right?"

"...I guess..." Blake muttered.

"And," Weiss continued. "Let me just say that I'm thankful to _you_ for not clinging to me so much when I woke up that my wound reopened."

Here, she sent a stern look toward Ruby.

"I said I was sorry!" She wailed.

"Again, Red. _Teasing_." Weiss chuckled. "It wasn't that bad..."

"Ugh! Why do you bleed about _everything_, Weiss?"

"Excuse me? I'll have you that my skin is..."

As the pair went off on their routine of harmless bickering, Yang sat down in the vacant chair beside Blake's.

"All teasing aside," she murmured. "You were still unconscious at the time, so you wouldn't know, but I was there when they'd just woken Weiss up. Do you know what the first thing out of her mouth was?"

Blake was silent.

Yang smirked as she continued. "She asked, 'Where's Blake? Is she alright? I could tell she had a nasty migraine.' She started talking even before she opened her eyes. And when the staff told her they had taken priority to treat her wounds first, she lashed out at them. 'You imbeciles! Go treat her _at once_!' And she sent a good amount of them scurrying off."

Blake was silent for a moment as she gazed at the heiress from the side as she continued to lectured Ruby. For some reason, Blake could not tear her gaze away from the scar above her left eye.

"Be honest with me." She whispered to Yang. "Was she really okay the entire time?"

The slight pause Yang gave was enough to tell Blake her suspicions had been correct.

"She was in pretty bad shape by the time the medics arrive." Yang confessed. "She'd lost a lot of blood. Her heart almost stopped once." Blake tensed as she sucked in a sharp breath. "But after that, it was clear she was really going to be okay."

Yang raised her voice just a little bit to alleviate the heavy atmosphere that had fallen for a moment. "They didn't expect her to be awake for a least another day, but here we are." Blake could hear the affectionate smile in Yang's voice as she watched the heiress chew out her pitiful sister.

Ruby was pouting now with her cheeks puffed out, but thankfully Weiss directed her attention away from her.

"And you two." She looked toward Blake and Yang. "Just what are you even doing over there, whispering together? You'd better not be planning anything funny like some stupid surprise party for when I get discharged."

Blake heard Yang mumble, "Oh, good idea!" ever so quietly before she raised her voice in reply. "Of course not, princess. Why don't you stop with the long-winded speeches and get some rest like you're supposed to?"

"Well, I've got to make sure none of you are misunderstanding anything."

"Oh, we understand." Yang nodded. "We understand we'll have to start training without you for the tournament."

That silenced the heiress for a while.

It was about an hour later when they were told they would have to leave Weiss for the night.

"Ugh, how am I supposed to sleep in here tonight?" She huffed.

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about my bed falling on top of you!" Ruby offered.

"No!" Weiss groaned. "I can't _stand_ this open ceiling! It's too wide! And how am I supposed to sleep in such _utter_ silence after growing accustomed to Yang's snoring? And then there's the matter of all the lights being out. How am I supposed to adjust myself to sleep without Blake's light on when she reads before bed?" She was clearly in distress about it all.

"Oh... Sorry, Weiss." Ruby stood as she frowned, also not particularly liking the idea of leaving her. "We're just gonna have to bear with it for the next few days. All the more reason for you to get better!" She patted her partner's shoulder lightly. Weiss gave a little grunt of contempt, however, apparently Ruby interpreted it differently. "Oh my god, did I reopen your wound again?"

Weiss had to hold back a chuckle. "Yes, Red. Your fingers on my shoulder is basically equivalent to twisting a knife into my stomach right now."

"Oh my god, let me call for someone!" Ruby shrieked.

"Ruby! _Kidding_!" Weiss said quickly.

This caused another short bout of squabbling between the two, during which time Yang stood and helped Blake up as well; her searing headache had died down, but her bruised ribs still called for some support.

Yang gathered her sister before calling back to Weiss over her shoulder. "Well, goodnight, princess!"

Weiss still looked incredibly unhappy about the notion of sleeping alone, but she replied nonetheless with a grumpy "goodnight."

"Wait." Blake stopped Yang just before she could lead her out. Slipping away from her partner, Blake made her way back to Weiss, staggering slightly.

"What are you doing?" Weiss gasped. "Don't try to walk by yourself, you'll-"

"Weiss." Blake stopped her. "I never got the chance to say it before... but thank you."

Golden eyes met with mist-blue for a moment.

"You dummy." Weiss sighed as she looked up at the drooping ears atop the other girl's head. "I told you, we're teammates. It was only natural. There's no need to thank me." She watched as Blake's ears perked up. "Now off with you. I'll only rest if you promise do to the same." She waved her had dismissively and shooed Blake back toward Yang.

Blake smiled in return. "Of course."

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**A/N: I don't really know what I wanted to do with this. All I know is I needed to write it.**

**Please review!**


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